U.S. President Donald Trump said in a statement he reserves the right to ignore
the defense authorization law’s ban on U.S. recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, among 50 other provisions he says tread on his authority as president.
Crimea was seized from Ukraine by Russia and annexed in March 2014.
Trump issued a 15-page
signing statement Monday to accompany the
2019 National Defense Authorization Act that voiced his constitutional concerns with an array of language, including limits on U.S. support to the Saudi campaign in Yemen, transfers of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and reporting civilian casualties and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Korea.
Trump was also concerned with provisions limiting his ability to retire Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft and to retire intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Trump objected to four of eight provisions focused on Russia. For example, the law would limit the use of federal funds to recognize Russian control over Crimea, but Trump asserted his authority as commander in chief, saying the law would unduly “dictate the position of the United States in external military and foreign affairs.”
